Olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases hit record high in EU
Michael Goodier
Sun, 28 July 2024
Sun, 28 July 2024
THE GUARDIAN
The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors.Photograph: Image Source/Getty Images
The EU had a record number of potential olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases in the first quarter of this year as inflationary pressures fuelled an increase in the hidden market for the kitchen staple.
The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors.
As the price has spiked, so has the number of “cross-border EU notifications”, which include mislabelling, potential fraud, and safety cases involving contaminated oils.
In the first quarter of 2018, just 15 such cases were recorded by the EU. That rose to a record 50 cases in the first three months of this year, more than a threefold increase, according to data released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws.Interactive
However, these cases are only those to have been detected and reported by member states to the EU directorate general for health. The figure omits domestic cases and the true scale of the fraud is probably much higher.
The incident reports included oils contaminated with unauthorised substances such as pesticides, mineral oils and one case where glass fragments were discovered.
There were also many cases where extra virgin olive oil was judged to be adulterated, for example by mixing it with poorer or cheaper quality oils, cases where virgin olive oil was labelled as extra virgin (a more premium unrefined oil with a lower acidity), and several cases of misleading or false origin labelling.
In February, in a typical example, Germany reported a case from Israel of “lampante oil”, a quality considered not suitable for human consumption without further refining, being marketed as “extra virgin olive oil”. Some oils crossed several borders, with Germany reporting a case of “misleading mislabelling of olive oil from Syria, via the Netherlands” in March.
Of the 182 olive oil fraud and non-compliance notifications sent to the EU since the start of 2023, 54 related to products from Italy, 41 from Spain and 39 from Greece.
The EU introduced new rules on conformity checks of marketing standards for olive oil, as well as methods for analysing it, in July 2022.Interactive
A European Commission spokesperson said the higher number of notifications in the system did not indicate an exacerbated risk for consumers. They said: “The yearly higher reported number of notifications are proof of better exchanges of member states’ competent authorities and their vigilance towards fraud in the agrifood chain.
“The commission has zero tolerance for fraud. With a view of providing consumers with good-quality olive oil in the EU, the commission organises annual workshops and fosters collaboration between EU countries to ensure that these checks are correctly implemented and ensures the exchange of relevant information for those working on olive oil.”
Chris Elliott, a professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast, said that while the consequences of ingesting contaminated olive oil could be serious, it was very unlikely to appear on the shelves of big supermarkets. He said: “Most people who cheat are likely to do it in areas where there isn’t any monitoring or surveillance. Small businesses or food services are more vulnerable to fraud.”
Liquid gold
Global heating has led to a fall in olive oil production levels in recent years. Crops in Spain, which produced more than half the world’s olive oil in 2018-19, have been hit by drought and heatwaves of more than 40C (104F).
Provisional figures from the International Olive Council (IOC) show global production levels are expected to fall to 2.4m tonnes in 2023-24, down 27% from 2018-19 and lower than the 2.6m tonnes in projected consumption levels.
As a result, prices have shot up. One hundred kilos of extra virgin olive oil from Jaén in Spain cost €787 in November last year, up from €262.50 five years earlier, making olive oil a more attractive market for fraudsters.
Elliott said climate-driven inflation was often behind rising levels of fraud: “Whenever we see fluctuations in prices of a commodity it’s always a clear sign of increased fraud in the next few months, as it provides an opportunity for people to cheat.
“Olive oil is one example. There has also been massive increases in things like chocolate where cocoa production is a massive issue; because of climate change there will be big increases in things like coffee. The more processed a food is, the more likely there will be fraud.”Interactive
The Italian central inspectorate of quality protection and fraud prevention of agrifood products (ICQRF) completed a programme last year that seized 380 tonnes of oil products worth more than €2m and reported 17 people to the judicial or administrative authorities for serious violations related to false or missing labelling, or fraudulent marketing of non-extra virgin oils as “extra virgin”.
In November, Italian authorities seized 550,000kg of oils declared as olive oil but which actually consisted of a blend of vegetable oils. The value of the seized goods was approximately €250,000.
Liquid gold? Olive oil fraud cases hit record high in EU
The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors.Photograph: Image Source/Getty Images
The EU had a record number of potential olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases in the first quarter of this year as inflationary pressures fuelled an increase in the hidden market for the kitchen staple.
The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors.
As the price has spiked, so has the number of “cross-border EU notifications”, which include mislabelling, potential fraud, and safety cases involving contaminated oils.
In the first quarter of 2018, just 15 such cases were recorded by the EU. That rose to a record 50 cases in the first three months of this year, more than a threefold increase, according to data released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws.Interactive
However, these cases are only those to have been detected and reported by member states to the EU directorate general for health. The figure omits domestic cases and the true scale of the fraud is probably much higher.
The incident reports included oils contaminated with unauthorised substances such as pesticides, mineral oils and one case where glass fragments were discovered.
There were also many cases where extra virgin olive oil was judged to be adulterated, for example by mixing it with poorer or cheaper quality oils, cases where virgin olive oil was labelled as extra virgin (a more premium unrefined oil with a lower acidity), and several cases of misleading or false origin labelling.
In February, in a typical example, Germany reported a case from Israel of “lampante oil”, a quality considered not suitable for human consumption without further refining, being marketed as “extra virgin olive oil”. Some oils crossed several borders, with Germany reporting a case of “misleading mislabelling of olive oil from Syria, via the Netherlands” in March.
Of the 182 olive oil fraud and non-compliance notifications sent to the EU since the start of 2023, 54 related to products from Italy, 41 from Spain and 39 from Greece.
The EU introduced new rules on conformity checks of marketing standards for olive oil, as well as methods for analysing it, in July 2022.Interactive
A European Commission spokesperson said the higher number of notifications in the system did not indicate an exacerbated risk for consumers. They said: “The yearly higher reported number of notifications are proof of better exchanges of member states’ competent authorities and their vigilance towards fraud in the agrifood chain.
“The commission has zero tolerance for fraud. With a view of providing consumers with good-quality olive oil in the EU, the commission organises annual workshops and fosters collaboration between EU countries to ensure that these checks are correctly implemented and ensures the exchange of relevant information for those working on olive oil.”
Chris Elliott, a professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast, said that while the consequences of ingesting contaminated olive oil could be serious, it was very unlikely to appear on the shelves of big supermarkets. He said: “Most people who cheat are likely to do it in areas where there isn’t any monitoring or surveillance. Small businesses or food services are more vulnerable to fraud.”
Liquid gold
Global heating has led to a fall in olive oil production levels in recent years. Crops in Spain, which produced more than half the world’s olive oil in 2018-19, have been hit by drought and heatwaves of more than 40C (104F).
Provisional figures from the International Olive Council (IOC) show global production levels are expected to fall to 2.4m tonnes in 2023-24, down 27% from 2018-19 and lower than the 2.6m tonnes in projected consumption levels.
As a result, prices have shot up. One hundred kilos of extra virgin olive oil from Jaén in Spain cost €787 in November last year, up from €262.50 five years earlier, making olive oil a more attractive market for fraudsters.
Elliott said climate-driven inflation was often behind rising levels of fraud: “Whenever we see fluctuations in prices of a commodity it’s always a clear sign of increased fraud in the next few months, as it provides an opportunity for people to cheat.
“Olive oil is one example. There has also been massive increases in things like chocolate where cocoa production is a massive issue; because of climate change there will be big increases in things like coffee. The more processed a food is, the more likely there will be fraud.”Interactive
The Italian central inspectorate of quality protection and fraud prevention of agrifood products (ICQRF) completed a programme last year that seized 380 tonnes of oil products worth more than €2m and reported 17 people to the judicial or administrative authorities for serious violations related to false or missing labelling, or fraudulent marketing of non-extra virgin oils as “extra virgin”.
In November, Italian authorities seized 550,000kg of oils declared as olive oil but which actually consisted of a blend of vegetable oils. The value of the seized goods was approximately €250,000.
Liquid gold? Olive oil fraud cases hit record high in EU
Amber Murray
Mon, 29 July 2024
CITY AM
Olive oil fraud complaints hit record high
The number of cases of fraudulent olive oil referred to the EU hit a record high this year after inflationary pressures fuelled black market activity.
The price of olive oil has more than doubled in the last five years on climate-related supply pressures and environmental shocks.
There were 50 reports to the European Union of mislabelling, potential fraud and safety cases, such as contamination related to olive oil, in the first three months of this year, according to data obtained by the Guardian. In 2018, the number was just 15.
Officially, fraud is where someone mixes another oil with extra virgin oil and passes it off as the genuine article.
A lucrative business
Increases in the price of olive have pushed it to become the most-stolen item in Spanish supermarkets, according to security company STC.
Late last year, gangs were found using this stolen olive oil to make diluted, fraudulent versions of the product.
“The faking of extra virgin olive oil is a common practice. A mix of various factors, such as the general inflation of prices, reduced olive oil production and increasing demand, have created the perfect breeding ground for fraudulent producers,” Europol said in a statement at the time.
The International Olive Council has predicted that just under 2.3m tonnes of olives will be produced in 2024, down slightly from last year’s yield of 2.5m tonnes but significantly lower than the 3.4m tonnes produced in 2022.
The change is largely an effect of global warming: unusual stretches of hot weather are bad for olive trees, and will impact the quality and yield of the crops. In Italy, too, a severe virus has affected the yield of trees in the production hub of Puglia.
However, part of the reason fraud reports have risen is simply a better complaints process, health consultant and author of Olive Oil for Dummies, Dr Simon Poole, said.
“There has always been fraud in the olive oil world,” Poole said. However, it is an increasingly regulated world, he said, and “standards are enforced”.
The EU, which accounts for 53 per cent of global olive oil production and 67 per cent of global production, introduced new checks on marketing standards for olive oil in July 2022.
“You will always find people trying to cut costs or increase profits, particularly at times when the price of olive oil is rising,” Poole said. But more is being uncovered because the authorities in places like Spain, Portugal and Italy and Greece “do clamp down heavily on fraud in the industry”.
Is your olive oil real?
It’s unlikely that fraudulent olive oil will end up on your local supermarket shelf.
“The supermarket chain supply is usually reasonably good and so deliberate fraud would be unlikely to end up in the supermarket,” Poole said.
“[Fraud] is more likely to happen in unregulated markets,” he added. Unregulated – or less regulated – markets can include small businesses, or simply areas where there isn’t any surveillance.
‘Fake’ olive oil in the supermarket is more likely to be oil that only just passes the standards of quality at production, and then goes off on supermarket shelves or in our cupboard, Poole said. This isn’t illegal, and wouldn’t be referred to the EU.
“If you taste an extra virgin olive oil that is fruity and it has some bitterness and some pungency, then it’s likely to be the genuine article,” Poole said.
Olive oil fraud complaints hit record high
The number of cases of fraudulent olive oil referred to the EU hit a record high this year after inflationary pressures fuelled black market activity.
The price of olive oil has more than doubled in the last five years on climate-related supply pressures and environmental shocks.
There were 50 reports to the European Union of mislabelling, potential fraud and safety cases, such as contamination related to olive oil, in the first three months of this year, according to data obtained by the Guardian. In 2018, the number was just 15.
Officially, fraud is where someone mixes another oil with extra virgin oil and passes it off as the genuine article.
A lucrative business
Increases in the price of olive have pushed it to become the most-stolen item in Spanish supermarkets, according to security company STC.
Late last year, gangs were found using this stolen olive oil to make diluted, fraudulent versions of the product.
“The faking of extra virgin olive oil is a common practice. A mix of various factors, such as the general inflation of prices, reduced olive oil production and increasing demand, have created the perfect breeding ground for fraudulent producers,” Europol said in a statement at the time.
The International Olive Council has predicted that just under 2.3m tonnes of olives will be produced in 2024, down slightly from last year’s yield of 2.5m tonnes but significantly lower than the 3.4m tonnes produced in 2022.
The change is largely an effect of global warming: unusual stretches of hot weather are bad for olive trees, and will impact the quality and yield of the crops. In Italy, too, a severe virus has affected the yield of trees in the production hub of Puglia.
However, part of the reason fraud reports have risen is simply a better complaints process, health consultant and author of Olive Oil for Dummies, Dr Simon Poole, said.
“There has always been fraud in the olive oil world,” Poole said. However, it is an increasingly regulated world, he said, and “standards are enforced”.
The EU, which accounts for 53 per cent of global olive oil production and 67 per cent of global production, introduced new checks on marketing standards for olive oil in July 2022.
“You will always find people trying to cut costs or increase profits, particularly at times when the price of olive oil is rising,” Poole said. But more is being uncovered because the authorities in places like Spain, Portugal and Italy and Greece “do clamp down heavily on fraud in the industry”.
Is your olive oil real?
It’s unlikely that fraudulent olive oil will end up on your local supermarket shelf.
“The supermarket chain supply is usually reasonably good and so deliberate fraud would be unlikely to end up in the supermarket,” Poole said.
“[Fraud] is more likely to happen in unregulated markets,” he added. Unregulated – or less regulated – markets can include small businesses, or simply areas where there isn’t any surveillance.
‘Fake’ olive oil in the supermarket is more likely to be oil that only just passes the standards of quality at production, and then goes off on supermarket shelves or in our cupboard, Poole said. This isn’t illegal, and wouldn’t be referred to the EU.
“If you taste an extra virgin olive oil that is fruity and it has some bitterness and some pungency, then it’s likely to be the genuine article,” Poole said.
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